Italian Prepositions

Basic Prepositions

Prepositions are small, invariable words that are used to link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. Here are the basic Italian prepositions:

Di (of, from)
A (to, at)
Da (from, by)
In (in, at)
Con (with)
Su (on)
Per (for, by)
Tra/Fra (between/among)

Compound Prepositions

Compound prepositions are formed by combining a basic preposition with a prefix. Some common ones are:
- Sopra (on top of, above)
- Sotto (underneath, below)
- Davanti a (in front of)
- Dietro a (behind)
- Accanto a (next to)
- Vicino a (near to)
- Lontano da (far from)

Articulated Prepositions

Articulated prepositions combine a basic preposition with an article.
- For example, ‘in’ + ‘il’ becomes ‘nel’.
- Other combinations could include ‘a’ + ‘il’ = ‘al’, ‘di’ + ‘la’ = ‘della’, etc.
- All articles can be used to form articulated prepositions, including definite and indefinite articles.

Use of Prepositions

The use of prepositions often doesn’t translate directly from English and can seem challenging.
‘Di’ is used to specify ownership, origin, material something is made of and more.
‘A’ can indicate direction, location, point in time, manner, and other attributes.
‘Da’ generally denotes origin, but also has several other applications such as agent of an action in passive sentences.
‘Per’ often indicates the recipient of an action, cause, comparison, movement through a place or period of time.
Remember, prepositions must be used before a noun or pronoun to show relevance, direction, location, time and more.

The prepositional system of Italian is relatively complex compared to English, and often the best way to learn it is through extensive reading and listening, and practise in writing and speaking.